Hon. Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay sent a letter to the Federation of Canadian Azerbaijani Associations. In his letter, the Minister says that the Office of the Right Honourable Stephen Harper, Prime Minister, has forwarded to me on January 16, 2007, a copy of your correspondence, on behalf of the Coordination Centre of Canadian Turkic Organizations, the Federation of Canadian Azerbaijani Associations, suggesting that the Government of Canada issue a statement on the anniversary of the tragic events that took place in Azerbaijan on January 20, 1990. Hon. Peter MacKay regrets the delay in replying to the Federation because this proposal came to his attention too late to consider such a possibility. However, he writes that “it is a matter of historical record that the security forces of the former Soviet Union committed many such acts of repression against unarmed civilians. As you note in your message, that was indeed a dark episode in Azerbaijan's history that should never be forgotten. The victims of the events of January 20, 1990, will be remembered for the significant contribution they made to the eventual independence of their homeland.” He further acknowledges that: “it is commendable that your organization is taking the lead in ensuring that their sacrifice is acknowledged.”
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Liberal MP Ken Dryden visited the Federation of Canadian Azerbaijani Associations
Liberal MP Ken Dryden visited Federation of Canadian Azerbaijani Associations and met with a group of representatives of the Azerbaijani and Turkish community. The issues which worries of both community and the recent social problems of Canada were discussed in the meeting. Hon. Ken Dryden exposed the differences between the government and Liberal approach towards the child benefit, day care and the student loans.
Akbar Majidov, president of the Federation of Canadian Azerbaijani Associations, Nedim Duzenli, president of the Canadian Turkish Associations, York University professor Ulduz Ragimov, one of the prominent members of the Azerbaijan community, Mehmed Abidi, etc., expressed their concerns on the very often use of the term of the so-called Armenian genocide by Stephan Harper, the Prime Minister of Canada and told that such policy harms Canada’s multicultural and peacebuilding policy. They also told that this position will affect the results of the next coming elections. Mr. Ken Dryden told that he feels sorry that the government has unbalanced policy in these matters as it has in other areas. He also mentioned that such position shadows Canada’s cooperation with Turkey within NATO in the Middle East. Then Nazila Isgandarova, chair of the Azerbaijani Women’s Support Centre told that the Azerbaijani community has a concern over the illegal mining operations in the occupied Azerbaijani regions by Armenia, which also involve the Canadian companies. One of them is the First Dynasty Ltd. These operations results have never been audited nor approved by an independent third party because the agreement between Armenia and the company excludes the third party, even the Canadian government to obtain information. She told that they appealed to the CanMet and the Natural Resources Canada, but were not able to get any information in this re...
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Dear Members of HUMA – The House of Commons Standing Committee considering Bill C303,
We are writing to let you know of our strong support for Bill C-303, which you will soon be reviewing as a member of the House of Commons HUMA Standing Committee.
This Act, if passed, will go a long way towards creating true accountability in an area where it is sorely needed - child care funding.
Bill C-303, the Early Learning and Child Care Act, is designed to ensure that any federal money allocated for child care actually gets spent on child care. This is not currently how things work. In the last two years, the federal government has transferred almost $2 billion for early learning and child care to the provinces; this year, the transfers will be $600-million. While this is not enough money to build the child care system Canada needs, it is nevertheless a considerable amount of public funds. But at this time, there are no strings attached at all. The provinces are free to spend it on anything but child care. Contrary to the intergovernmental agreements signed beginning with the Multilateral Agreement on Early Learning and Child Care in 2003, most provinces are not publicly accounting for the federal funds.
From both the public accountability and the child development perspective, this is not an acceptable situation. Early learning and child care is simply too important to leave to chance.
The proposed Act also sets some standards for program delivery, ensuring that the federal funds are directed only to child care providers that meet a set of criteria referred to as the QUAD principles: Quality, Universality, Accessibility and Development-oriented. These are minimum benchmarks to help ensure that children are protected and in nurturing, stimulating environments. They are well based on the best available evidence.
We encourage you to support Bill C-303. It's the accountable thing to do. Sincerely Yours, Azerbaijani Women’s Support Cent...
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